I love the idea of baby books … but I hate scrapbooking. Luckily, I found a perfect alternative to preserve those memories – Shutterfly Photobooks!
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I came really close to creating a scrapbook once. After I spent a semester studying abroad in Spain, I was bound and determined to create a scrapbook of my experiences. I spent a small fortune on materials at Hobby Lobby, I checked out scrapbooking books from the library, and I scoured the Internet looking for inspiration. That scrapbook is still sitting in a tote with all my supplies under my son’s bed. It has exactly three pages completed. From a trip I took almost a decade ago…
Needless to say, I am a terrible scrapbooker. I love the idea of scrapbooks. I enjoy looking through other people’s scrapbooks. I long to create my own stunning scrapbooks. But I just do not have the gift of scrapbooking.
Part of my problem is that I’m too much of a perfectionist, but my design skills don’t match my expectations. So there I sit, staring at a blank page, afraid to even start for fear of making an ugly page.
The other problem is a vision problem. I have troubles seeing things in my head before I do them. It’s difficult for me to just start cutting and gluing and sticking without a clear vision in my head of the end product.
So when I had my first son, Aidan, I didn’t even kid around with the idea of a traditional baby book. I’m honest enough with myself to know what’s realistic, and a baby scrapbook was just not one of those things. But I did very much want a keepsake from his birth and first year that I could treasure.
I found the perfect solution — Shutterfly Photobooks. These digital scrapbooks are perfect for someone like me who desires the sentimentality of a scrapbook without all the hassle. And it has been the perfect way to document both my boys’ first years, even for a non-scrapbooker like me.
Why Shutterfly Photobooks are Awesome
Here are a few reasons I love Shutterfly Photobooks:
- No need for all the supplies!
- Faster to put together
- Most of the work is done for you
- Doesn’t make a mess
- Easier to experiment – A digital scrapbook makes it so much easier to experiment with my designs. I can move things around freely, delete things easily, undo things I don’t like, and try out different designs until I find the one I want. This is perfect for someone like me – a perfectionist who struggles with design.
My Super Easy Baby Book Method
Like I said, I didn’t keep an official baby book for either of my boys. I knew that my good intentions would quickly go to the wayside and I would end up with half-completed books.
Instead, I kept a running Word document on my computer of all their notes and milestones. Whenever I had a minute, I would add notes about what they were doing, how their doctor appointments went, when they tackled each little milestone, etc. The notes were quick and very informal. I figured I could always go back and turn them into complete sentences or paragraphs later.
And that’s exactly what I did when I made my Shutterfly Photobooks at the end of their first years. I peppered those little notes and memories among the pictures in the books. The result was a very special record of memories that I will treasure forever.

Tips for Making Your Best Photobook
If you’ve never made a photobook before, Shutterfly does a pretty good job of walking you through it step-by-step. So I won’t take the time to cover every step. But I did want to point out a few tips that might not be obvious that will make your photobook experience even better.
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Consider using Shutterfly’s Make My Book service.
A service that will do all the designing for me?? That sounds like a dream come true for a busy mom who isn’t that great at design but wants a book that looks like she is. 😉
I didn’t want to use this for the boys’ baby books, since I wanted full autonomy with the order, milestones, notes, etc. But I am definitely considering this option for our “yearbooks” that I want to start doing or for family vacations.
The Make My Book service is only $9.99, and you are only charged if you end up ordering the finished book. So there’s really no harm in trying it to see if you like it!
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You can purchase Storytelling elements a la carte.
The Storytelling Styles are premium designs that you can add to your book for more design options. An entire style collection costs $5.99.
When I was making Aidan’s baby book, I ignored the Storytelling Styles and opted for the free styles instead. When I made Andrew’s book, I decided to spend the extra $6 and get one of the Storytelling Styles. I didn’t have a lot of time to spend designing the book, and I thought the Storytelling Style would make it easier and look better.
It really didn’t, and I regretted choosing one of the premium styles, as I didn’t use most of the design elements. It is possible to change your style once you’ve started, but it was going to disrupt a lot of the work I had already done with my layouts, formatting, etc. I was too far invested in the project to change it. For the future, I decided it wasn’t worth the extra money.
However, as I was preparing for this post, I learned that you can purchase Storytelling elements a la carte! I was so excited to learn this! You don’t have to buy an entire style collection to get a few elements – you can buy the elements you want individually:
Idea Pages – $0.99
Backgrounds – $0.25
Embellishments (stickers and pattern bands) – $0.25Once your individual elements add up to $5.99, you get unlimited access to the entire collection. Pretty cool, huh?
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Organize and (roughly) choose your photos before uploading
Trust me on this one – I speak from experience!! Not only is it MUCH easier to organize and choose your pictures from your computer files rather than in Shutterfly, it will drastically reduce your uploading time. I have really slow Internet at my house right now, and when I first tried to upload a bunch of pictures, it took hours to upload.
This is my process for uploading pictures for use in a Shutterfly project:
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- Go through my pictures on my computer
- Select the ones I think I might want (doesn’t have to be my final pick, just a rough idea)
- Make a folder for my Shutterfly project
- Copy the pictures I want into the folder
- Upload the folder to Shutterfly
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Use the Storyboard tab
In this tab, you can add the photos you want on that page, and it will automatically choose a layout for you based on the number of pictures.
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Use Advanced Editing
Click this button when you want to fine tune your layout. This is where you can add, move, or resize photo or text areas. It took me a while to figure this out the first time I made a book, and it was driving me crazy that I couldn’t make the boxes exactly how I wanted them! I rejoiced when I finally found the Advanced Editing button.
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Don’t be confined by your style’s elements
You can get more layouts, backgrounds, embellishments, and idea pages and add them to your project.
More Ideas for Shutterfly Photobooks
- Family Yearbooks (i.e. a scrapbook of your family’s year. I plan to make one of these at the end of this year. There are several books in Shutterfly with season templates that will be perfect for this!)
- Family Vacations
- Birthday Parties
- Special Events
- Milestones
- Holidays
I have completely given up on the idea of ever actually completing a scrapbook. I think my ten-year-old three-page scrapbook sitting under my son’s bed is a pretty good testament to that.
But thanks to Shutterfly Photobooks, I don’t have to give up on the idea of creating priceless memory keepsakes. Photobooks are easier, quicker, and a lot less work than a traditional scrapbook, and they’re perfect for non-designer perfectionists like me!
If you’re a non-scrapbooker, but you would love to have something to show for your baby’s first year (or any special time in your life), give Shutterfly Photobooks a try. Once you try them, I know you’ll be forever hooked.
Make Your First Photobook
Click here to get started on your first (or next) photobook!
You Might Also Enjoy:
- Why I Throw (Un)Pinterest-Worthy Parties
- The Secret to Communicating With Your Baby (Before He Can Talk)
- My Favorite “Must Have” Tools for Moms
- 7 Things I Wish I Had Known Before My Second Baby
Very simple and easy to follow. I’m gonna share this to my sister, I think this would be great for her.
Wonderful!